The Gloria Cachion Gallery at the Southbury Public Library will showcase the art of Susan Grisell from Tuesday, April 2, 2024 through Monday, April 29, 2024.
Susan Grisell has been painting professionally for the last 50 years, primarily in oils. She studied with her Gaylordsville neighbor, the late Bernard Lennon, after graduating from high school and finding that colleges were not teaching a representational approach to art. Lennon’s approach was not conventional, but was effective: for the first year, working only with a palette knife and no drawing! But at the end of that year, she found working with a brush completely natural, and that her draftsmanship had actually improved because she was approaching subjects in terms of masses of color rather than line. Bad habits were broken before they had a chance to become ingrained.
Susan has always considered herself primarily a landscape painter, but also enjoys painting figures and still life, which gives her more control over materials and lighting. Light and color are as much the subjects of her work as the objects themselves. Each painting is an entry in a sort of visual diary, evoking something of the surroundings and the time of day, and, she hopes, communicating something of it to the viewer. These are impressions rather than depictions; they are not intended as monologues, but invite a dialogue with the viewer.
Susan took her first award at the age of 19, an honorable mention at the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit in New York. She has since taken numerous awards, mostly at outdoor art shows, including Best in Show at WSOAE, Mystic, and New Milford, as well as a Portrait Prize in Mystic, a Landscape Awards in New York, and many others. She no longer exhibits in outdoor shows, but recently took Best in Show at Roxbury’s Art at the Meetinghouse event.
The exhibit will be open during regular library hours which are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:30am to 5:30pm, Tuesday and Thursday 9:30am to 9:00pm, Saturdays 9:30am to 4:00pm and Sundays 12:00pm to 5:00pm. A sample of photos will be posted online in the virtual gallery.
Please visit us at www.southburylibrary.org to view a sample of photos virtually and for any updated hours and information. Or you may call us at 203-262-0626.
Susan’s Bio: https://www.southburylibrary.org/using-the-library/spaces/art-gallery
The gallery: https://www.southburylibrary.org/gallery
